News and America’s Kids: How Young People Perceive and Are Impacted by the News

Common Sense Media released new research today that finds that although kids value the news media and feel smarter when they're informed, they also feel the media doesn't cover what's important to them, and they feel misrepresented when they're covered. The report finds that kids are often fooled by fake news and that they think there is gender and racial bias in news coverage. News and America's Kids: How Young People Perceive and Are Impacted by the News is based on a nationally representative survey of 10- to 18-year-olds about their engagement with the news, including where they get their news, their level of trust in various sources, and the impact news has on their lives.

Key findings include:

Kids value the news. Most access it and care about it, and overall they feel smarter when they're informed.

Kids feel neglected and misrepresented. They don't feel like the media covers what's important to them, and they feel misrepresented when they're covered.

Kids see racial and gender bias in the news.

What kids are seeing scares them and makes them feel depressed.

Kids are fooled by fake news. This may be why many are extremely skeptical and distrustful of the news media.

Kids trust their families and teachers for news more than any source, but they prefer to get it from social media.